Vikings pick Mond early in third round
COLLEGE STATION — For four seasons, Kellen Mond lowered his head and honed his considerable skills as Texas A&M’s starting quarterback, and in his final year, led the Aggies to their highest finish in the Associated Press rankings in 81 years.
Mond’s hard work in college has paid off. The Minnesota Vikings selected the San Antonio native with the second pick of the third round of the NFL draft (66th overall) on Friday night.
“Playing in the NFL has been a dream pretty much since the age of 2 years old,” said Mond, the Senior Bowl MVP in January. “To get the call from the Vikings was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
A&M has had at least one selection in the first 75 picks of each of the last 11 NFL drafts. The draft concludes Saturday with rounds four through seven.
“Kellen loves the process of football as much as he loves playing football,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said of Mond’s approach to practicing and learning the game. “All the great guys do.”
Fisher and his wife, Courtney, were with Mond and his family and friends in San Antonio for the announcement in Cleveland, Ohio, from Pro Football Hall of Famer John Randle, a former Vikings star from Hearne, which is near College Station.
Mond (6-3, 211) holds the A&M record for career passing touchdowns (71), passing yards (9,661), completions (801) and total offense (11,269). His 93 career touchdowns through the air or as a rusher is tied with Johnny Manziel (2012-13) for the A&M school record.
Mond last season as a senior became the third SEC quarterback to throw for at least 9,000 yards while rushing for at least 1,500 more in his career, joining Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott and Florida’s Tim Tebow.
More importantly to the Aggies’ fortunes, Mond was a program-best 3-0 as a starting quarterback in bowl games, including a 41-27 victory over North Carolina in the Orange Bowl to cap a 9-1 finish to his senior season. A&M was No. 4 in the final 2020 AP poll, its highest finish since winning the national title in 1939.
Mond will now aim to succeed veteran Kirk Cousins, who has two years remaining on his contract in Minnesota. Mond said Fisher “allows quarterbacks to have freedom” in running a college offense, better preparing him for the NFL.
“(Fisher) really wants the quarterback to be the leader, and the offensive coordinator on the field,” said Mond, adding that he looks forward to learning the intricacies of the NFL from a “mentor” in Cousins.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said if a scout only watched Mond perform against Florida in 2020, he would have been a first- or second-round pick in 2021. But Kiper added that if the same scout only saw Mond later in the season against LSU he would be “a free agent at best.”
“Kellen Mond’s inconsistency kind of drives you a little crazy at times,” Kiper said. “Jimbo Fisher does coach them hard, and (Mond) did improve every year in terms of his completion percentage in that program.”
Four years ago, Mond was a four-star prospect and rated the nation’s No. 108 player out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He played his first three seasons at San Antonio Reagan before transferring to IMG as a senior.
Mond started as a true freshman at A&M under then-coach Kevin Sumlin in 2017, and then started as a sophomore, junior and senior for Fisher. He completed 52 percent of his passes as a freshman and 63 percent as a senior in growing more accurate each season.
“The arrow keeps pointing up with him because he has a very live arm,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “You saw him get better each and every year.”